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Identification and Diagnosis of Hearing Loss

Finding out if someone has a hearing loss is a detailed process of tests and observations. The process of identification and diagnosis is vital for making a plan of treatment, to decide whether they will need hearing technology and which would be most appropriate. It also informs what sort of additional support they may require. The audiological assessments will objectively test and measure whether the hearing system is working. It will look at the whole process from where the sound enters the ear, through to it being received in the cochlea, carried along the hearing nerve up to the brain where it is processed and understood. These tests and observations will look at whether the baby, child or adult is able to respond to a series of sounds, both high and low pitched at very soft levels. If a hearing loss is detected a diagnosis will need to be made to understand how mild or severe the hearing loss is and what the possible causes were. All these factors will influence how the hearing loss is managed and treated.

In this section of the website you will find background information on the following topics:

The different types of hearing tests/assessments done, depending on age of person and type of hearing loss

How to read and understand what an audiogram represents and what information it provides about the hearing system

The different types of hearing technologies and the implications they have on management and support